


An Alphabet of Love

by PrincessLocket



Category: Inazuma Eleven, Inazuma Eleven: Orion no Kokuin
Genre: Drabble Collection, Established Relationship, M/M, One Shot Collection, Pining, Post-Canon, Some chapters will involve them being in an established relationship, Some chapters won't, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Various AUs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:22:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24492703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessLocket/pseuds/PrincessLocket
Summary: Just a collection of pure tooth-rooting fluff following Nosaka and Ichihoshi's daily lives.
Relationships: Ichihoshi Hikaru/Nosaka Yuuma
Comments: 1
Kudos: 45





	1. Attention/Affection

The sound of Ichihoshi’s quiet giggles were like music to Nosaka’s ears. He could never fully get enough of them. Whenever the midfielder would laugh, it would fill him up with a soft floaty feeling he could only describe as love. What made him even happier, was when Ichihoshi’s giggles were caused because of him, much like they were right now.

Currently, the two were studying in a more or less secluded area of their school’s library. It was Ichihoshi who had initially invited him, claiming how he had hadn’t been focusing very well in class lately and was in desperate need of a tutor.

Obviously, Nosaka knew this was a lie. Well, maybe it was only partly a lie, seeing as Ichihoshi’s voice only ever raised when he was lying, much like it had when he started insisting on the need for a tutor. That and Ichihoshi held a pretty solid grade in each subject he took. In fact, Ichihoshi’s grades were nearly as high as his own. Sometimes they would even be given tests from higher ranked grade levels just to see how intelligent they both were.

Even so, Nosaka had agrees to join the midfielder for tutoring and was he ever so grateful to have said yes. Because if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t be sitting next to Ichihoshi right now, pressing rewarding kisses to his cheek every time Ichihoshi got a question correct.

With passing answer, Ichihoshi would eagerly point to one of his cheeks, giggling as he waited for his reward each time.

It made Nosaka’s heart swell with warmth each and every time. Being with Ichihoshi was easy. He never felt like he had to be anyone other then himself when they were together. He could relax and in turn, could help Ichihoshi relax as well. It was something they could only do in the presence of each other.

“Is the answer to this one, 39?” Ichihoshi asked, sky blue eyes blinking at Nosaka with curiosity.

At hearing his voice, Nosaka smiled. Gray eyes glanced to the paper under Ichihoshi’s hand. There was a small glint in his eyes as he scanned over the question and then the answer the midfielder had wrote. Yeah, the answer was indeed correct, but… there was something off about with the way Ichihoshi had written down the answer.

It took him a moment to figure out what was wrong with answer until it finally hit him. The way Ichihoshi had written the number 3 to look more like a heart than the actual number itself. As for the number 9, it was also more or less shaped into a heart as well.

When he glanced a look to Ichihoshi he found his cheeks warming. The midfielder was practically dancing in his seat, swaying side to side with his hands cupped over his mouth, trying to contain the laughter that was dying to break free at any moment.

Nosaka smiled, leaning back in his chair as he turned to face Ichihoshi.

Ichihoshi barely had a chance to react when Nosaka dove in to press a series of kiss across his face. Laughter filled the area where Nosaka and Ichihoshi sat as Nosaka continued to press kiss after fleeting kiss to any area he could on Ichihoshi’s face.

He couldn’t help it. The way Ichihoshi was giggling mixed with the way his arms were cupping his face, made Nosaka’s heart fill with a blossoming adoration he wished could last forever. But alas, the sound of footsteps had Nosaka pulling away.

Standing just inches away from the table they were seated at was the librarian. The look on her face was neither a pleased nor dissatisfied one, but it still made Nosaka frown none the less.

“I’d advise you two to keep I down over here. I know it’s not a very popular section of the library for students to visit, but still.” The librarian sighed, shaking her head before she turned her attention to her wristwatch.

“Any who, the library will be closing in 10 minutes, if you have books you wish to check out before then, please make your way to the front desk where I would be more than happy to scan them out for you.”

Having said that, the librarian walked away, leaving Ichihoshi and Nosaka alone once more.

Ichihoshi let out a quiet giggle when gray eyes met his own.

“I can’t believe that just happened.” He whispered; a blush dusted high on his cheeks.

Nosaka nodded in agreement, hands already working to gather up their belongs from the table. “Yeah… I guess that means we’ll just have to continue this back at the dorms then.”

If the blush on Ichihoshi’s cheeks wasn’t already bright enough before, it certainly was now. All Nosaka could do was laugh as he placed one last kiss Ichihoshi’s forehead, before he laced their hands together, guiding the other out of the library with a smile of his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alola! Thank you for reading this small collection of Nosaichi related fanfics!  
> As the title states, each chapter will be based off a different letter from the alphabet. Sometimes I may include a second of third word that corresponds to the letter of the assigned chapter, so I hope you enjoy those~  
> Thank you again for taking the time to read these silly little drabbles/one-shots!


	2. Bathbomb

Ichihoshi stared at the assorted bath bombs lined against the shelf of his room with such an intensity, it made him look as if he were a mage shopping for only the finest potions to take into battle. In a way, the decision Ichihoshi was about to make was almost as important as such.

The bath bomb he would pick needed to be perfect!

After all, it would either make or break his grade in his art appreciation class. If the color didn’t match the overall theme of his set-up, he would be docked a fair amount of points. If it didn’t fizz to his teachers liking, at least 10 points would be taken away. And even though the smell wouldn’t matter, seeing as he would be recording the bath bomb on his phone, he’d at least like for it to have a nice scent.

Currently, he had narrowed his decision down to four different colored bath bombs. Each one was shaped into a different animal and held a different pastel color to them. Any one of them would go well with the pastel themed set-up he had in his bathroom, but only one the bath bombs could be chosen, as per his teachers’ rules.

Personally, Ichihoshi would rather use the blue pastel colored bath bomb. The preference for it was solely based on its fragrance, which would make the room smell of freshly picked blueberries. That wasn’t to say that it couldn’t fizz or accent the water nicely, it could, it just wouldn’t blend well with the other pastel colors that would surround it. The green bath bomb was another side preference Ichihoshi had, but unlike the blue one, the smell wasn’t as flattering. It was like playing a trap card, it looked appealing at first glance, did everything it was supposed to do, but after a while, it’s minty smelling fragrance would make staying in the room almost unbearable after some time.

The pink and purple pastel bath bombs were the last of his choices. Both looked could generously fizz up in the water and smelled absolutely wonderful. The colors they dissolved into were the only problem. Yes, they were both pastel to the core, but it was always a gamble to what they would dissolve into after hitting the water.

In his past experiences with the pastel pink colored bath bombs, they were prone to desaturate into murky shades of red. He liked to think it was caused by the temperatures of the water, but when he asked his fellow classmates about their own experiences with the color, he was met with similar answers to his own.

The pastel purple bath bomb seemed like the most reliable out of the four he had chosen. It held up to all the qualities Ichihoshi was looking. And unlike the pastel pink bath bomb, it relatively kept to the same color even after dissolving into the water. Of course, there was still a chance for it to look more gray than purple, but at this point, it was his hope.

With a reluctant sigh, Ichihoshi grabbed the pastel purple bath bomb before making his way to the bathroom.

When he entered the room, he was surprised to find Nosaka still hard at work with arranging the fairy lights around the area of the bathtub. He smiled as he set the bath bomb on the sink counter, holding out his hands as if he were asking for it stay still, knowing full and well that it would.

“Thanks again for helping me with this!” Ichihoshi grinned, as he closed the door behind him. He then proceeded to giving Nosaka’s back a gentle hug before pulling away so he could take a look at the room.

Everything looked perfect. The pastel colored plants that lined the lower walls of the bathtub shone with the authentically placed dew drops Ichihoshi had glued onto them just hours before. The translucent curtains that hung just slightly above the plants as well as the little flower petals that decorates the surface of the water all danced gently to the breeze of the air conditioning vent above them. And now, with the added mix of the fairy lights, the room felt like it was finally tying itself together.

“Of course, I’m always here whenever you need it.” Nosaka mused.

Ichihoshi turned to hide the slight blush on his cheeks, taking notice of the camcorder Nosaka had already set-up for him. Ichihoshi smiled as he moved to stand behind it. With a quick press of a button, the screen on the camcorder came to life.

The first thing the camcorder picked up was Nosaka, who was busy re-adjusting the angle of one the fairy lights that was suddenly hanging lower than the other lights around it. Seeing this as a small window of opportunity, Ichihoshi pressed down on the ‘record’ button of the camcorder.

He smiled fondly at the screen for several moments before he turned the camcorder away to face himself. With the attention being on him for the moment, he quickly made a series of a silly faces, switching back and forth from cute ones and some scary ones. The final face he would make was one of which where he’d stick out his tongue and cross his eyes, giggling at himself in the process, all the while neglecting to notice his boyfriend smiling at him from just behind the camcorder. However, when Ichihoshi finally took notice of playful grey eyes staring at him, a startled gasp escapes his lips, causing him to almost drop the camcorder.

“Don’t stop there, I’d like to see more.”

Ichihoshi puffed his cheeks out in a pout, “No way! I can’t do it now that you’re watching! Besides, I need to hurry and submit this soon.” He said as he brought the faced the screen of the camcorder back to himself, hitting the ‘Stop’ button and silently hoping Nosaka hadn’t taken notice of the recording he had been doing done before hand.

“Could you drop the bath bomb in the water when I give the thumbs up?” Ichihoshi asked, as he moved to turn on the fairy lights. He then proceeded to turning off the light switch, allowing for the soft glow of the fairy lights to illuminate the room. He gave the camcorder a quick check before hitting the ‘record’ button again, giving Nosaka a thumbs up a moment later.

Nosaka nodded as he walked over to the furthest side of the bathtub, where he assumed would be in an area outside of the cameras shoot, before promptly dropping the bath bomb into the water.

It hit the water with a small splash, ripping the water and making the flower petals sway against the gentle currents. The bath bomb quickly began to fizz, turning the water a nice shade of purple in the process. It was relaxing to watch everything unfold. The fairy lights that lined the bathtub shone their lights gently against the edges of the water, giving the purples a nice highlight.

Ichihoshi hummed in amusement when arms circled around his waist, holding him gently.

“You’re gonna get a passing grade for sure.” Nosaka spoke in a whisper, dropping his chin to rest on Ichihoshi’s shoulder.

Ichihoshi smiled, leaning backwards to rest more comfortably against Nosaka. “Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi and thanks for stopping by to read this again!  
> Sorry for the late update- I kind of hit a writers block almost immediately after uploading the first chapter. And uh this small collection is supposed to have a kind of random upload schedule anyway so... Please bear with me as I try to get out of this writers block with these short stories


	3. Cuddling

He couldn’t help but wonder how he had gotten so lucky.

Ichihoshi was by far one of the most generous people he had ever come to know. His never-ending kindness never ceased to amaze him. The way he could walk up to almost anyone and get them to become friends with one simple smile was beyond Nosaka – It was strange, Ichihoshi’s kind personality was a strong rival to Inamori’s, but that was something Nosaka wasn’t trying to get into at the moment, at least, not while he had Ichihoshi tucked between his arms.

Somehow he had gotten himself into somewhat of a cuddle buddy arrangement with the midfielder. It had all started one night when he had found Ichihoshi practicing his hissatsu out on the schools playing field a little past midnight. From what Nosaka could tell, Ichihoshi had looked almost ready to collapse. So, when he approached the midfielder that night, he hadn’t been expecting Ichihoshi to give him such an unwelcomed hello.

Ichihoshi had turned to Nosaka with his eyes narrowed in a way that reminded the tactician of the midfielders’ days when he had been living as Mitsuru, but as soon as gray eyes met blue eyes, they returned to normal. Any anger Ichihoshi may have had in the moment dissipated as soon as he saw Nosaka. And when he opened his mouth with a greeting on his tongue, Ichihoshi had nearly crumpled to the ground. Luckily, Nosaka had reacted just in time to catch Ichihoshi before he could hit the ground.

After that, Nosaka had tried to coax Ichihoshi back to their dorms, but the midfielder had refused without giving any sort of explanation. He only shook his head, insisting that he was fine and for Nosaka to go back on his own. So instead of arguing, Nosaka had asked him to sit and take at least a five-minute break.

Ichihoshi had agreed and the two of them sat in a comfortable silence, that is until Nosaka started to hum a little lullaby.

Tired as he was, Ichihoshi yawned. With each passing second he could feel the warm invitation of sleep pulling at him and thanks to Nosaka’s humming. It was nice, a gentle melody that left him feeling comfortable enough to lay back against the grass, closing his eyes in the process.

Nosaka continued to hum his little lullaby until he could hear Ichihoshi’s quiet snoring. From there he had carefully carried Ichihoshi back to his dorm room, placing the midfielder on his bed before climbing in next to him. Nosaka had of course given Ichihoshi enough room on the bed to where there was at least a few inches of space between them, but when morning came, he found the midfielder to be tucked close against his side.

That same morning, Ichihoshi had apologized frantically, saying how sorry he was for staying out so late, for intruding on Nosaka’s personal space, and for over other various reasons he felt were appropriate for apologizing at that moment.

Nosaka had simply shaken his head, letting Ichihoshi know that everything was fine between the two. However, he had made it clear that the next time he found Ichihoshi practicing late into the night, that he would personally drag him back to the dorms without so much as asking first.

Ichihoshi had laughed Nosaka’s words off, thinking they were just an empty promise but low and behold, that same night, he would be promptly dragged into Nosaka’s room where he would end up telling Nosaka about the nightmares he had been having.

For several nights, he would get a series of nightmares, one right after the other, each playing out in ways he could only wish would stay inside his dreams. Ichihoshi explained how he thought that by staying up late he could tire himself out enough to where he could fall asleep without having any dreams, but by doing so, he had been feeling more drained throughout the day rather than having fewer dreams to worry about at night.

Nosaka had listened quietly, nodding his head now and then, until Ichihoshi had finished. He then took a moment to let the information sink in, trying to think of ways he could possibly help the midfielder fall asleep to a world with more peaceful dreams, but every idea he came up with seemed either way too absurd or just plain unreasonable.

So Nosaka did the only thing he could think of at the moment, he had laid down on the bed, reaching out his arms in an open invitation towards Ichihoshi and smiled a sleepy smile.

It took less than a second for Ichihoshi’s face to turn a bright shade of scarlet. His mouth had opened and closed several times, words trying to come out, but failing each time.

“If we try this, maybe it’ll help your dreams settle into something sweeter.” Nosaka’s voice was laced with sleep as he spoke. His fingers had twitched, trying to signal Ichihoshi to join him. And thankfully, Ichihoshi took the hint. He had slowly settled into Nosaka’s arms, giving the other a wobbly smile as he hid his face in Nosaka’s chest.

“Let me know if this is too much.” Nosaka had said as he wrapped his arms around the midfielder to fully incase him in his embrace.

Ichihoshi had let out a shaky breath but returned the embrace, nonetheless.

From there the two fell asleep to a world filled with nothing but soft and fuzzy dreams.

They continued to fall asleep like this for the next couple of nights until it became a habit. They were currently on their third week in doing so when Nosaka had finally taken the time to examine Ichihoshi’s sleeping face.

Each morning, Ichihoshi had been the first to wake up, leave the bed, and return with something for them both to eat together. But this morning, in particular, Nosaka had been the one to wake up first. Seeing this as a one-time opportunity, Nosaka pulled Ichihoshi closer, nuzzling his face into blue hair, soaking in the quiet morning.

Ichihoshi shifted against his chest, sighing in his sleep.

It nearly made Nosaka pull back, but the arms that had been wound around him tightened, keeping him in place.

Well, that was just fine with him. A little extra time to lay in bed with Ichihoshi was more than fine with him. So he pressed even closer, closing his eyes once more as he pressed a kiss to blue hair back into a dreamless sleep.


	4. Dancing

Ichihoshi took a steady breath as he entered the dance hall with his chin held high. This was it, he was finally here, there was no backing out now, especially when there were several eyes were turning in his direction. Ichihoshi smiled and nodded as he made his way past several Outie Tsukinomiya students that were hanging around the entrance.

With each step, Ichihoshi could feel any and all of his social energy slowly leaving him. Coming here was a mistake. Pretty soon and all eyes would be looking to him with disdain, he was sure of it. After all, none of the students here knew he was supposed to have shown up with a date, who coincidentally, was the one person just about everyone had a common mutual crush on – Nosaka Yuuma.

It was almost expected for students to develop a crush on Nosaka at one point or another during their attendance at Outie Tsukinomiya. Nosaka was smart, handsome, and an all-around great soccer player. Those who shared the same class schedule as him would even go as far as to spread rumors of how close they were to the tactician, saying how they were like two peas in a pod. But of course, when Nosaka was asked how close he was to anyone mentioned, he would shrug and reply with; “We’re only classmates. Outside of the classroom, we’re nothing but strangers.” And with that, another heart would be broken and another overzealous student would try to gain Nosaka’s attention.

In all honesty, Ichihoshi found everything to be kind of futile. You couldn’t just gain someone’s affection by making up empty rumors about them and then expect them to return your feelings just like that. No! It took actual effort to get close to someone and even then if you could connect with someone, there was no guarantee for a romantic attraction would form. It was something most students had yet to figure out and Ichihoshi just hoped they would eventually pick up on this someday before someone got hurt.

But then again, if he were in their shoes, Ichihoshi was almost certain he would be forming little plans to get close to Nosaka as well…

Thankfully, he wasn’t one of them and actually carried a genuine bond with the tactician. Unlike the students who were trying to pursue the tactician for his looks and popularity, Ichihoshi generally cared about Nosaka’s well-being. The students that carried out their little attempts to be with Nosaka most usually put their own feelings above Nosaka’s, which would more often than not, cause the tactician to find himself in troubling situations both inside and outside of the classroom. There was even one time where a second-year had flung herself at Nosaka, tears streaming down her face, as she declared her love to him. In the process, the girl had accidentally torn Nosaka’s homework, stomped on his foot, and hit head on the side of Nosaka’s desk when he had evaded her. This had caused quite a scene, Nishikage had sighed when he recalled these events to the soccer team. Not only had it caused a scene but for the students in the room, but it also caused an even bigger scene later that day when Nosaka had been called into principal’s office and was promptly given a lecture on how his constant rejections were getting out of hand.

When all had been said and done, Nosaka had shown up to soccer practice with barely enough energy to kick the ball in the right direction. Nishikage and several of their team members had to demand Nosaka sit down and take a break for the last half of practice.

From then on, the team would take turns looking out for Nosaka during school hours by making sure no one was spreading false rumors or trying to drag the tactician into another scene like the one mentioned prior. More often than not it was Ichihoshi and Nishikage that stuck close to Nosaka’s side. Between the three of them, keeping others other than the soccer team out of their circle, was child’s play. One stern look from Nishikage would send students scurrying off in a different direction and with Ichihoshi there to keep Nosaka distracted, things started to change for the better for everyone - Which would eventually lead up to Nosaka asking Ichihoshi out to the school dance.

But now that he was here and drawing closer to where Nosaka and Nishikage stood, Ichihoshi couldn’t help but slow down his pace until he was just standing in the middle of the dance hall with a hand-drawn up close to his chest, clutching at it as if it were the last thing keeping him together, which in a way, it kind of was. If he were to dance with Nosaka what would everyone think? Would they be mad at him? Would they be made at Nosaka? Would even more rumors begin to spread? What-

His train of thought came to a halt when a hand was placed on his shoulder. When he looked up he was met with the warmest smile he had seen all night.

“No- Nosaka?!” Ichihoshi had jumped back a little, cheeks flushing a dark shade of red. “Hi… I uh, I kind of just- nice place right?”

Ichihoshi smiled as he glanced off to the side to look at anything other than Nosaka. That’s when he finally took in the dance hall around him. Chandeliers sparkled against soft glowing fairy lights strewn across the ceiling and walls. Several tables and chairs were occupied by pairs of shoes and friends on one side of the room while the other held a dance floor where a generous amount of students were dancing amongst themselves. At the head of the dance floor was a DJ stand with some guy playing a remixed version of a popular song.

It all seemed pretty nice now that Ichihoshi was taking the time to have a look around. But when he looked back to Nosaka he felt as though nothing could truly compare to how well dressed the tactician was.

Nosaka was dressed in a soft lavender suit with small accented cherry blossoms running up along the arm of his sleeves. Nosaka’s hair had been styled with his bangs framing his face even more so than it usually did. It was breathtaking, far more in comparison to what he was wearing; a royal blue colored suit with the barest of sky-blue gradients peaking from his pants legs. And not only that, but his hair only been brushed back into a barely noticeable ponytail. The look wasn’t something he had especially liked, but it was something he felt made himself look presentable. But compared to Nosaka, he was almost certain he looked pretty silly.

However, when he brought his gaze back to the tactician, Nosaka was staring at him as if Ichihoshi were a bright twinkling star in the night sky. The midfielder opened his mouth to say something only for it to snap shut when he found a hand gently pulling at his own, leading him towards the dance floor. 

Ichihoshi let himself be guided through the crowd of dancers, trusting Nosaka to keep them in a well enough hidden area between their teammates, but found the tactician to be doing the opposite of that. Instead, Nosaka lead them to an area close to the front of the dance floor where the lights shone brightest and the music was loudest. Now, this was something unexpected. Then again, Nosaka was full of surprises.

“What are you doing? Aren’t people going to notice?” Ichihoshi had to shout a little to get his voice above the sound of the music. 

“Let them.” Nosaka smiled back as he pulled Ichihoshi into his arms.

As soon as he did so the music faded into a slow dance. Several dancers left the floor while a vast majority of them turned to their partners and fell into place around them. 

Ichihoshi blinked up at Nosaka as the lyrics of the song came into play. The people around started to move around them in fluid steps while the two of them stood in the dead center of it all. Ichihoshi could feel his cheeks coloring with what he hoped wasn’t too noticeable a blush, but the way Nosaka smirked down at him caused him to whine in embarrassment.

“This is a bad idea. What if someone tries to start something after this?”

“They won’t and if they do, I’ll protect you.”

“But- But, I’m still not right… I mean, you should really be dancing with someone else.” The faintest of tears started to well up in the midfielder’s eyes. He quickly looked to his feet, hoping to hide his face enough as much as he could. “I’m not cut out for stuff like this.”

Nosaka tilted his head, trying to follow Ichihoshi’s gaze before he placed a hand under the midfielder’s chin, gently coaxing his gaze back up to stare into nervous sky-blue eyes.

“Hey, everything’s going to be okay. I asked you out to this dance because I wanted to dance with you tonight, not anybody else. You’re the only one I want to be with right now and if you want to sit down or do something else than I’d be glad to do that with you instead.”

Ichihoshi nodded, and even the voices that were yelling in mind that it was better to go sit and hide in a dark corner, he closed his eyes and placed his arms around Nosaka’s shoulders. 

“I think I’d rather share this dance with you if you’d still like to.”

Nosaka smiled, a little bashful, before winding his arms around Ichihoshi’s waist, pulling him in close. “I think I’d like that too.”

From there Nosaka led Ichihoshi around the dance floor. They moved together almost in perfect sync to the music. Neither of them could take their eyes off the other as they danced along with each other as they became lost in their own little world. 

At some point, it felt as if they were dancing almost directly under one of the lights from the DJ stand, but when Nosaka moved them a certain way, they were met several other pointed lights. Ichihoshi giggled as the song neared its end and Nosaka smiled, leaning in close to where his lips were almost brushing against Ichihoshi’s own. All he needed to do was move in just a little closer, it would be so easy, but instead, Nosaka withdrew himself completely in order to dip Ichihoshi low to the ground.

The midfielder let out a little squeak as he clutched onto Nosaka.

“Wha-“

“-Thank you for the dance.” Nosaka smiled before he all but yanked Ichihoshi back up, causing the midfielder to fall into his chest.

A round of applause came out somewhere from behind them and it was at that moment where Ichihoshi finally took in how empty the dance floor suddenly was. He quickly stood on his toes to look past Nosaka’s shoulder to see all the other dancers, that had previously been on the dance floor, applauding them from the outskirts of the dance floor. 

Ichihoshi gasped before hiding his face into the croak of Nosaka’s neck.

“This is so embarrassing.”

A look of subtle concern crossed the tactician's features when he felt the arms around his neck squeeze around him tightly.

“Would you like to sit down now?” Nosaka asked slowly, bring a hand up to card through blue hair.

Ichihoshi shook his head, nuzzling his face against the side of Nosaka’s neck. “Let’s keep dancing.”

As if on cue, the melody of a faster-paced song came on. Several groups of students came back onto the dance floor, surrounding the two as they moved to the beat of the song. It made Ichihoshi’s heart pound a little faster against his chest. With so many people around them again, he and Nosaka wouldn’t be the center of attention anymore, which meant they could dance freely once more. With a final squeeze around the shoulders, Ichihoshi pulled back and let out a laugh.

“Let’s see what other dance moves you got!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! Thank you for stopping by to read this chapter! I had a lot of fun writing and am hoping to update a little more often this following week.
> 
> I'd like to think that at some point during the night the song "Drop Pop Candy" comes on as a requested song and Nosaka and Ichihoshi start to dance to it in their mirror version... And maybe Nishikage records it just so he can play it back for the entire soccer team to watch the next day


	5. Engagement Planning

Ichihoshi sighed as he ended the call with the florists. What should have been a ten-minute call had turned into a full hour one instead. On any other day, this wouldn’t have been such a big deal for Ichihoshi, but today was not one of those days. He had a list of things to get done throughout the day. He did **_not_** have time to be re-planning what flowers he wanted to have at his wedding when he had specifically told the florists what he had wanted months ago advance.

Everything should have been in their finalization stages by now but no; something just had to go wrong right before his wedding day could arrive.

Ichihoshi ran a hand through his hair as he glanced a look at his phone. The time read a little ways past 1:30, which meant he still had about twenty minutes to rush over to the boutique to pick up his suit but that would mean he’d have to skip over his eating lunch in order to arrive at the boutique on time. He sighed again as he thought back to the call he had just made. If only things had gone right.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do now. The matter was out of his hands. All he could do was wait and hope for the best. Right now, he had to focus on the rest of things he had planned on accomplishing for the day.

Ichihoshi took a breath as he typed out a quick message on his phone to the boutique, letting them know he was on his way, before making his way to the front door. He gave himself a quick once over in the mirror on the side of the door, grabbed his car keys on his way out of the house, locked the door, and power walked his way to his car.

Once inside, he set the car to play one of his favorite songs from the CD he had left in the CD player before pulling out of his driveway. As he drove he allowed himself to relax his arms, which he had only barely noticed were tense when he made a turn leaving his street.

“Everything’s going to be fine.” He mumbled, hoping to help ease his nerves. In a way, saying it out loud did help him feel a little more at ease. As he continued his drive he made sure to keep his focus directed on the road ahead of him.

When Ichihoshi had arrived at the boutique he was greeted with warm smiles and congratulatory pats on the back. It honestly made him tear up a little as he thanked everyone there for their cooperation within the past few months. Out of everyone he had worked with up to now, these people had to have been some of the most kindest he’d had the pleasure of working with.

When he, Asuto, Goujin, and Endou had all started looking for a suit for him, they had jokingly agreed to enter the boutique thinking it would only serve to charge them a fortune on whatever Ichihoshi would pick out. But boy were they wrong! From the moment they entered the building, they were met with nothing but kindness and understanding. The salesmen had agreed to work with the boys on the budget they had and even offered to throw in extra added bonuses every now and then.

Of course the group took up any offers they could get, they needed all the help they could get after all, and when Ichihoshi browsed through the available suits they had to offer, he had found that he rather liked the overall atmosphere of the boutique. So when he had left that day with the promise to return for a fitting arrangement, he couldn’t help but laugh.

And now that he was finally saying good-bye for the last time, he allowed himself to shed a few tears on the way out.

When he was back in his car, Ichihoshi lent back against his seat and closed his eyes. Now that he had his suit all he needed to do was make a few more calls here and there, grab dinner, and head home. It all seemed easy enough to do but his energy was slowly starting to drain from everything he been doing since the day started.

Ichihoshi sighed as he started the car once more, mentally preparing himself for the calls he was going to make once he reached the local park he and Nosaka had found months ago.

* * *

By the time Ichihoshi returned home, the sun had already sunken down far enough in order to paint the sky with vibrant oranges and pinks that would eventually blend into darker tones of blue and purple. It was truly a beautiful sight to look at from Ichihoshi’s perspective. It was so nice that he decided it would be best to capture the moment by taking a picture of it with his phone.

As he moved the camera around to find a good angle for the picture he failed to take notice of a presence sneaking up behind him.

Just as he was about to press down on the capture button, a pair of arms snaked around his waist, squeezing him softly. Ichihoshi let out a squeak, taking a blurry picture of the sky, as he whirled his face around to meet playful gray eyes.

“Welcome home, Hikaru.” Nosaka murmured into blue hair. The arms he had wound ever so slightly against Ichihoshi’s waist.

Ichihoshi hummed in greeting, leaning back to rest his head on Nosaka’s shoulder. “Have you ordered dinner yet?” As if on cue, Ichihoshi’s stomach let out a loud rumble, causing him to blush in embarrassment. “Please say yes because I’m starving.”

Nosaka chuckled pulling away to instead grab a hold of Ichihoshi’s hand. “I actually started making a little something not too long ago, but you’ll have to wait and see what it is.”

“Alright, alright, but can you at least give me a hint?” Ichihoshi asked as he quietly laced their fingers together.

Nosaka chuckled as he lead the way back into their home, stopping at the front door in order to let Ichihoshi remove his shoes, before guiding his fiancé to their living room.

“It’s got an Italian theme if that’s anything to go by.” Nosaka finally answered. He gently pushed Ichihoshi to take a seat on their sofa before placing a tender kiss to blue hair. “Rest here for a bit and I’ll bring it to you.”

Ichihoshi smiled, eyes lingering on Nosaka’s retreating feature before turning his attention to his phone.

The camera was still open on the screen, causing him to silently roll his eyes as he looked to the small preview image at the corner of the phone. It wasn’t a bad picture, per say, but from what he could tell, it looked more like a cotton candy blob than anything else. But no matter, he exited the app as set his phone off to the side. Now that he was home with nothing left to do he could relax and enjoy himself for a little. And with the smell of steam and tomato sauce gradually filling the air around him, he supposed that the day had been a pretty big success.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had initially planned on making this chapter about exercising but there’s already a separate chapter dedicated to one form of exercising that’s going to be released later on so I changed it to the be modeled after the theme you’ve just read! Also, I already have the P(roposal) and W(edding) chapter planned out so why not turn E into the engagement planning chapter?!
> 
> If I'm being honest, writing this chapter was a little difficult since I had to look up what it actually meant to be engaged to someone... It was fun to write this chapter nonetheless though! And sorry if it seems a little open-ended with the calls and all. I wanted to give it that kind of vibe just so I could come back to reference it in better detail later on when the P & W chapters come out!  
> Once again, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it


	6. Festival/Fireworks

Nosaka smiled at the sight before him. He had just finished tying up the obi of Ichihoshi’s yukata and was now watching the midfielder with wonder filled eyes. Ichihoshi was standing in front of their full-length mirror, twisting and turning to get a look at himself from all angels. The smile he wore never once leaving his lips as he took in Nosaka’s handywork. Not only had Nosaka helped him put on the yukata, but he had also lent it to Ichihoshi so he could wear it for the night.

Ichihoshi had at first tried to decline the offer, saying how he could just go buy his own, but after spending some time out at some local shopping districts, he wound up coming back with nothing more than a star printed obi. That was when he finally allowed himself to accept Nosaka’s kindly offered yukata. He had smiled when the yukata was handed to him and had proceeded to change into it in their restroom but had come right back out moments later, with a blush high on his cheeks, as he asked Nosaka for help with putting it on.

With both of them being fully dressed in their own respective yukatas, Nosaka glanced a look at his phone. The school festival had started a little over an hour ago and even though he and Ichihoshi had wanted to attend the event as soon as it had started, they agreed to wait for Nishikage’s text before heading out. Nosaka frowned as he swiped through his messenger app.

“Is there something wrong?”

Nosaka looked up from his phone to flash a smile at Ichihoshi. “Not in particular…Just waiting on Nishikage’s text is all.”

Ichihoshi nodded before he turned his attention back to the mirror, attempting to tie his hair into a low ponytail. Nosaka smiled at the display before he felt his phone vibrate in his hands. There was a call from Nishikage. He quickly answered it.

“Nosaka, I’m sorry for making you and Ichihoshi wait- I kind of got held up by Saginuma and well… We’re actually at the festival right night.” Nishikage sighed into the phone. “I know we had all agreed on attending the festival together, but it appears that may not be able to happen now that I have my hands full with-“ A strange noise in the background cut Nishikage off, causing Nosaka to blink in confusion when the noise suddenly started to grow louder.

“Forgive me Nosaka but I must go now- WOULD YOU STOP THAT ALDREADY?!” The call ended before Nosaka could even reply back.

Nosaka shrugged his shoulders as he stuffed his phone into the side of his yukata.

“Ichihoshi?”

The midfielder turned his attention to Nosaka with a small smile, blushing as he adjusted the back of his ponytail. “I look weird, don’t I?”

“You look like the brightest star in the night sky.” Nosaka said without skipping a beat. He smiled as he watched the blush on Ichihoshi’s cheeks darken. He had to bite his lip as to not allow the laugh that was bubbling within him to escape. He really did love the little reactions he could pull from Ichihoshi. Sometimes he wished he could be the only one to ever do so.

“Nishikage won’t be joining us after all so it looks like it’s just going to be you and me.”

Ichihoshi nodded, not quiet understanding the sudden change of plans, but still happy to be able to leave for the festival. He quietly tucked a fallen strand of hair behind his ear and gestured towards the door. “Well uh… Shall we start heading out now?”

…

Nosaka and Ichihoshi graciously thanked their teacher for their Takoyaki before they walked back into the crowd of students mingling around them. They had been searching the food vendors for any trace of Takoyaki for nearly ten minutes and the moment they spotted said food, they had immediately made a b-line for it. It was a food they both gratefully enjoyed. Nosaka smiled as he silently took a bite of his own food, enjoying its flavor, before he turned his attention to Ichihoshi, who was nowhere to be found. He quickly stopped walking in favor of scanning the crowd for the midfielder, calling out Ichihoshi’s name a couple of times, only to be met with the sound of mixed voices. When it was apparent that calling out his name wasn’t enough he decided to stand on the tips of toes to look above the crowd of students. When he spotted that familiar head of blue hair, he quickly made his way over it.

He reached out his arm when he was close enough and grabbed hold of the sleeve of a yukata. The person gasped and turned their attention towards Nosaka. Nosaka sighed in relief when sky blue eyes met his own. It was in fact Ichihoshi, who was staring at him in wonder.

“Thank goodness I found you.” Nosaka stepped forward, dropping his hand from the yukata to instead intertwine his fingers with Ichihoshi’s. “Why don’t we stay like this from now? That way we won’t we get separated anymore.”

The blush that spread across the midfielder’s cheeks made Nosaka laugh. He tightened his hold on Ichihoshi’s hand before he turned his attention to something that lay on the ground just inches away from the midfielders’ feet. It was a pile of half stepped on Takoyaki. He looked back to Ichihoshi, who was scratching his cheek with a crooked smile. Nosaka then looked to his own Takoyaki and without saying a word he waved it towards Ichihoshi. “Would you like to have the rest of this?”

All Ichihoshi could do was nod in response. He silently bit down on the remaining piece of food, keeping his eyes on anything but Nosaka.

When Ichihoshi finished the Takoyaki, Nosaka quietly pulled Ichihoshi into the crowd, making sure to keep him close, all the while heading towards some gaming vendors. The first one they stopped at was a ring toss game. The toys that were lined up closest to the front were mostly those of which anyone could find in an arcade but the toys that were further to the back appeared to be ones that were more expensive looking. One of the toys in the back caught Nosaka’s eye. It was a bear with turquoise colored bear with a shooting star printed on its white colored tummy. There was something about the bear- He couldn’t tell why, but he wanted it for Ichihoshi. And when he looked to Ichihoshi, he could tell he wanted it too. So, he asked the student running the game to hand them a few rings.

The first ring Ichihoshi tossed missed the bear by several inches but the second ring he tossed landed perfectly over the left side of the bears ear. A moment later another ring landed on the right ear of the bears ear. Ichihoshi looked around in confusion but found Nosaka quietly laughing beside him. It took a second for him to put two-and-two together but when he did, he silently bumped his elbowed against Nosaka’s yukata.

“Nice toss!”

The student behind the stand quickly removed the rings from the bears head and handed it over to Ichihoshi, who immediately squeezed it against his chest in a tight hug.

“It’s so cute!” Ichihoshi smiled. He hugged the bear again and just barely missed the way Nosaka nodded back to his comment. A second later he felt a pair of arms pulling him into a hug. He looked up to meet gray eyes, which were staring at him so much warmth, it made him bury his head into Nosaka’s chest.

“It is cute but not as cute as you.” Nosaka whispered ever so quietly, hoping for the midfielder to hear him. He pulled back to check for Ichihoshi’s reaction, hoping to see at least a small smile, but found the other quietly playing with the ears on the stuffed bear. Maybe Ichihoshi hadn’t after all? He dismissed the thought and instead maneuvered Ichihoshi in front of him, once again wrapping his arms around the other and smiling an innocent smile when sky blue eyes met his own.

“Feel free to lead the way.”

Ichihoshi seemed to perk up at that and began to walk to another gaming vendor a few feet away from the one they were previously at. The two of them then proceeded to play several other games as the night went by. Sometimes they won and sometimes they lost. The games they played mostly gave out small prizes they could easily store into the hidden pockets inside their yukata but for the games that held bigger prizes, they skipped in favor of returning to them later in the night.

At some point they overheard a conversation about a fireworks display. They almost immediately tried to leave the gaming vendors but since Nosaka was in the middle of playing a shateki, they had to wait a few minutes until he eventually ran out of plush bullets. When he did finish the game, Ichihoshi instantly took hold of his hand and rushed them both off to an area where he assumed would be a good viewing spot.

It took them several minutes to get to this “good viewing spot” but when they did Nosaka quickly recognized it as their secret strategy forming area for the school’s soccer team. It wasn’t anything too special or secluded; just an area hidden off on the side of the school’s library surrounded by shrubbery and a few tress. Anyone could easily find it if they tried hard enough but when they got there they found themselves to be the only ones there.

Nosaka gave Ichihoshi’s hand a little squeeze as they stood there waiting in silence. If they had heard correctly, the fireworks were due to start any minute now. He was glad to have this opportunity to watch them with Ichihoshi, in fact, he was so glad that when the first one went up he nearly missed it because of how busy he was staring at Ichihoshi.

Another firework went off and he turned his attention up towards the sky. He caught the tail end of a sphere-like firework bursting at all angles in the sky. Several more went off and he smiled at each one, barely tightening his hold on Ichihoshi’s hand.

“They’re beautiful.” He heard Ichihoshi whisper beside him, followed by a quick mumble of words.

Without skipping a beat, Nosaka turned to face Ichihoshi, ready to pull the old classic, “but not as beautiful as you” when he met gentlest of sky-blue eyes he’d ever seen, accompanied by a quickly forming blush instead. His heart stuttered as he blinked at Ichihoshi. The midfielder held the stuffed bear tightly against his stomach while his other hand tightened around his own. It took him a moment to realize what had just happened- Ichihoshi had pulled the old classic “but not as beautiful as you” on him! He tightened his hold on Ichihoshi’s hand and turned to properly face him, lifting his free hand to cup the side of his face.

“Ichihoshi…” Nosaka ran his thumb along the midfielder’s cheek, leaning in slowly, tentatively, watching for any signs of Ichihoshi might try and give out. What surprised him is when he watches sky blue eyes flutter to a close. He takes this a positive sign and decidedly presses forward. The sound of a fireworks in the distance barely reaches his ears when their lips meet. It’s slow, unhurried, just the two of them relishing in the feel of the others lips against their own. Nosaka smiles into the kiss when he feels Ichihoshi press himself closer into his chest, it takes all of his will power not to kiss the midfielder senseless.

Eventually Nosaka pulls back, letting out a small laugh when Ichihoshi tries to follow his lips. He instead places a fleeting kiss to Ichihoshi’s nose and pulls him into a hug, quietly running his hands through blue hair. “Thank you for being here with me tonight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hi! Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it~ I've been wanted to write a more Nosaka centric chapter lately and felt like this would be the perfect chance to do it! The next one may or may not revolve around Nosaka as well, I'm still thinking about it... But for now please enjoy the rest of your day!


	7. Gardening/Glooves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adult/Married AU - Nosaka attempts to help Ichihoshi garden in their backyard

When he had agreed to help Ichihoshi tend to the plants outside he had initially expected the two of them to simply water their flowers one by one, maybe dig out any weeds or dying flowers they came across, and then go back inside to drink their own bottled water when they were finished. That’s how the people on T.V. had always done it, so why should it be any different now, right? Well, he would soon find out just how wrong he was. The moment he walked out of the house and into the backyard he was handed pair of scissors, a paper bag, and a pair of gloves.

“Thank you for helping with this! I know you haven’t done this before but don’t worry because I’ll be right here to guide you through the basics.” Ichihoshi had said with a smile as he lead Nosaka towards a bush of roses near the right side of their garden. The pink haired male watched with mild amusement as Ichihoshi reached forward to grab a hold of what appeared to be a wilting rose bud. “Okay so for starters, I’m going to need you to prune any rose that looks like this.” He gestured towards the rosebud in his hand. “It’s okay if you accidentally get rid of a few newer ones but please try not to overdo it. Sometimes they look like they’re dying but you can usually tell if they’re healthy or not by the way the stem looks. If the stem’s broken than it’s most likely bad, but if the stems in perfect condition than the rose should be okay! And one last thing- Be careful with the thorns! They shouldn’t be able to get you with the gloves on, those are the best ones I own, but still!”

Nosaka simply smiled and thanked Ichihoshi for the explanation, understanding the task to be a fairly easy in its terms, before he asked about the use of the paper bag. Ichihoshi practically jumped for joy as he explained the need for the bag, stating how he used it to store the discarded flowers in as a miniature composting site. He then went on to describing the benefits the compost would have on the flowers later on. At some point he vaguely pointed out how he sometimes threw in their own leftover dinner into the bags just because he thought they would be beneficial in some way. When he had finished his explanation he awkwardly scratched the back of head before leaning in to give Nosaka a quick kiss to the cheek. “Thank you again-“ Ichihoshi whispered before he made his way to the other side of their garden. Nosaka smiled at his husbands retreating figure, then turned back to stare at the roses.

He thought he would fine, that all he needed to do was follow the instructions he had been given, plain and simple. But after some time he came to the sudden realization that no, getting rid of the dying roses was not just some easy task. For the first few roses everything had gone smoothly, he’d cut them off and place them into the bag, but after some time he started to feel a slightly prickling sensation through his gloves. It wasn’t anything too sharp at first but several roses later and he found himself removing the gloves to find little holes in them: no doubtedly connecting them back to the thorns Ichihoshi had warned him about.

He snuck a glance towards Ichihoshi before turning his attention back towards his hands. If these gloves really were the best ones Ichihoshi owned then how worn out were the ones he was wearing? Nosaka sighed when he heard a little squeak of surprise behind him, already assuming the universe had answered his question for him before he turned to make his way towards Ichihoshi.

“Can I see your hands for a second?”

Ichihoshi turned around with a sheepish smile on his face, hiding his hands behind his back. “I would but I uh… they’re dirty and I don’t want you seeing them like this...”

Nosaka quirked an eyebrow at the response, allowing a small smile to grace on his lips. “Haven’t you been wearing your gloves though?”

Ichihoshi smiled, shaking his head up and down, but kept his hands hidden. “Of course I have! It’s just that I had to take them off for a bit and now they’re um… not in the best condition.” Ichihoshi gave Nosaka a nervous laugh but was quick to replace it with a cough when he found concerned gray eyes gazing at him. The blue haired male went silent as he watched Nosaka move closer towards him, moving forward to grab for his arms, and Ichihoshi allowed it. Nosaka took his hands into his own, tracing the outlines of the little cuts sprinkled on Ichihoshi’s fingers.

“Do you really have another pair of gloves or are the ones you gave me the only pair you own?” The worried look Ichihoshi gave him was all he needed.

Nosaka tightened his hold on Ichihoshi’s hands, being mindful of the cuts, before he gently pulled the other with him into their house. He lead them towards the restroom, where they kept their first-aid kit in, and asked Ichihoshi to sit down on the counter next to the sink. Ichihoshi complied and watched Nosaka with curious eyes. The pink haired male had grabbed some disinfectant, a cotton swab, and a band-aid from the kit and was working to prepare them all.

Already knowing where this was going to lead, Ichihoshi shut his eyes tightly in preparation of the sting that was sure to follow the appliance of the disinfectant to his fingers.

“I’ll be gentle.” Nosaka said when he took a hold of Ichihoshi’s hands again. The blue haired male simply nodded, cracking open an eye open to watch Nosaka apply the disinfectant to one of the cuts located on his ring finger. Ichihoshi hissed at the sting that came with the medicine but otherwise remined quiet.

Nosaka made quick work of applying the medicine to each cut, applying a few band-aids to each finger, before he finished them off by pressing a kiss to Ichihoshi’s knuckles. “Why didn’t you tell me you only had one pair of gloves?”

Ichihoshi shrugged, looking away. “I don’t know…I just thought that if I were fast enough you wouldn’t notice.” He sighed when he felt Nosaka squeeze at his hands. “That and because I didn’t want you getting hurt.”

It was Nosaka’s turn to turn sigh. “I get that your heart was in the right place, but please don’t do this again. If you needed another pair of gloves we could’ve gone out to buy some.”

Ichihoshi remained silent for a moment, considering what had been said. He opened his mouth to say something but shut it again just seconds later.

Nosaka quietly moved closer to wrap his arms around Ichihoshi, holding him close. He ran a hand through blue hair, smiling when he felt Ichihoshi’s arms wrap around his waist. “Why don’t we go get you a few new pairs right now? The ones you have now are nice and all but I think it would be best to get some more to have as spares.” He elected to leave out the part of the gloves having holes in them, figuring he would fix them up later.

Ichihoshi nodded against Nosaka’s chest, humming to himself when he felt gentle fingers running through his hair. “Okay but I gotta warn you, there’s like five different pairs of gloves I’ve had my on since March.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again everyone! I hope you enjoyed this short chapter! I know it wasn't much I promise the next one will be longer ((hopefully))!
> 
> Also, if I made a Nosaichi Discord Server~ So if anyone is ever interested in joining here's a link to it - https://discord.gg/BkZZjX9
> 
> Thank you again for reading this chapter!


	8. Honeymoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adult/Married AU - This chapter is more photo based than honeymoon based but it still revolves around the idea of Ichihoshi and Nosaka being together on their honeymoon.

Ichihoshi smiled as he scrolled through the recently taken pictures in his camera roll. Although each picture had been taken at some point earlier that day he hadn’t found the time to look at them until now. And now that he was scrolling through them, he had come to realize just how many pictures he had taken throughout the day. They really had taken a lot of photos. When they had first arrived his camera roll had been pretty much empty since he had just gotten a new SD card from one of their friends the day before at their wedding reception. But now it was more than 75% full. Since this was the first day of their honeymoon, Ichihoshi had insisted on taking as many photos as he could possibly could. Nosaka of course had agreed and took plenty of photos of his own, but even he knew Ichihoshi would wind up taking way more than he would.

Most of the recent pictures remained close to the top of the phone gallery, they consisted mostly of scenery and landscaping; Pictures of pretty looking flowers they had passed, interesting, shaped buildings with bright and colorful signs, and the changing color of the sky from different angels. The pictures found more towards the middle and bottom of the gallery were more or less selfies of him and Nosaka. In some of the more notable selfies, Nosaka was seen smiling more so towards Ichihoshi than the camera. Seeing these photos caused a light blush to grace Ichihoshi’s cheeks.

“What’s got you looking so happy over here?” Nosaka asked, placing a rainbow-colored drink in front of Ichihoshi as he took his seat in a chair across from him.

Ichihoshi let out a little laugh, turning his phone screen to face Nosaka. “I was just looking at our pictures. They all came out really nice- especially the one with the seagull sitting next to you.”

Raising an eyebrow, Nosaka propped an arm up on the table, placing his chin on his hand. A playful look danced in his eyes as he used his free hand to swipe through the pictures on the phone. “Really? I don’t remember seeing any seagulls next to me?”

“That’s because it weas only there for a few seconds. I just barely managed to take a picture of you both before it flew off.” Ichihoshi giggled, pulling the phone back to himself. “I’ll send the picture if you’d like.”

“I’d appreciate it.” Nosaka responded in kind, bringing out his own phone as he waited for the text to come in. “Since we’re on the topic of ‘secret photos’, would you like me to send you one of my own?”

“No way! You didn’t-“

“-I did.” Nosaka smirked, already hitting send on his phone.

“Please don’t tell me I was doing something weird in it.” Ichihoshi pouted. He’d been with Nosaka long enough to know just how much his husband liked to take silly pictures of him. In fact, on more than one occasion Nosaka would send him half blurred pictures of himself doing strange things. One of the most memorable photos that had ever been sent to him was when he had been hanging upside down on a monkey bar while trying to tie his one of his shoes. In hindsight he knew he should’ve waited until he was on the ground to tie his shoes, but since he was also kind of stuck he figured re-lacing his shoes while he was waiting for help would be the next best thing. To this day, Ichihoshi vowed never to do that again, but he knew he’d wind up doing it again someday by accident.

While he waited for the picture to come through, Ichihoshi sipped at the drink in front of him before passing it over to Nosaka, who was staring at him expectantly. With a tilt of the head, Ichihoshi looked back to his phone. A new message had just appeared on his screen. Already preparing himself for a funny picture, Ichihoshi tapped on the message. The picture took a moment to open up but when it did it, it nearly made Ichihoshi’s jaw drop. The picture wasn’t anything he’d been expecting. There was absolutely nothing funny about it. In his mind, the picture almost looked like it belonged in a magazine!

The photo showcased him to look almost …ethereal! He had been admiring one of the wind chimes outside of store. The wind had sent in a gentle breeze, causing the wind chime to seemingly dance in the air, creating an equally gentle ring to sound along with its movements. The sound was what had mostly compelled him to stop in the first place but the painted cherry blossom patterns had also caught his attention. And boy was Nosaka thankful for this. It had given him just enough time to snap a picture of both Ichihoshi and the windchime, along with a magnificent sunset placed just behind them both. With the sun having fallen just behind Ichihoshi’s body, it ended up outlining his body with a white sheen. The light of the sun also bounced off the windchime, allowing several smaller rays to stretch out between it and Ichihoshi. Everything else in the image had been blurred out due to the focus lens feature of the camera- most likely due to Nosaka’s assistance.

All in all, the picture looked fantastic. It was looking to be one of Ichihoshi’s newest favorites, along with a few of their wedding pictures from the day before. When he looked back up he had to stop himself from jumping over the table to give Nosaka a hug.

Gray eyes were silently gazed at him as if he had just hung all the stars in the night sky. “What do you think?”

“I think I just fell in love with you for the fifth time today.” The words came rushing out of his mouth before he could stop them. The little blush he had sported earlier now turning into a full-blown flush all over his face.

“Really? Then I guess that makes two of us." Nosaka replied, taking a long sip from his drink as he watched Ichihoshi cover his face with his hands. The little groan that sounded from behind said hands caused Nosaka to let out a laugh. “You really are too cute sometimes; you know that right?”

The little groan that escaped passed Ichihoshi’s hands only made Nosaka laugh once more.

* * *

When they had finished their dinner they returned back to their hotel room where the first thing Ichihoshi did was jump right into the center of the bed. With a hand, he beckoned Nosaka over, who casually sat on the edge of the bed. Ichihoshi stuck out his bottom lip to this, shuffling over to where Nosaka was and then twisting his body around to where his head was laying on his husbands lap.

“I had a lot of fun today.” Ichihoshi yawned, reaching his hand up to lightly trace the outlines of Nosaka’s jaw. “ I can hardly wait to see what you have in store for us tomorrow.”

“I know how you feel- You’re gonna love it, I promise.” Taking hold of the hand on his face, Nosaka turned it over to press a kiss into Ichihoshi’s palm, and then another, and another until Ichihoshi was a giggling mess in his lap.

“Yuuma! That tickles! Cut it out!” Ichihoshi laughed, trying to pull his hand back but found the fingers around his wrist tightening, preventing him from moving away. Another kiss was placed to his palm before they slowly started to trail along down the side of his arm. “Yuuma!” By now Ichihoshi’s laughter had turned into tiny little squeaks. His face burned with what he assumed was a darkened blush. This however didn’t stop Nosaka, he continue to leave a trail of kisses on Ichihoshi’s arm up until he reached his shoulder.

Ever so gently, Nosaka maneuvered Ichihoshi off of his legs so that he could lie down on the bed as well. Since they were still close to the foot of the bed, Nosaka moved towards the other end of the bed where a pile of pillows were gathered. Once he was settled into a comfortable enough position he ushered Ichihoshi over to him.

Without skipping a beat, Ichihoshi practically threw himself on top of Nosaka, partly knocking the wind out of his husband.

“Don’t tell me you’re tired already!” Ichihoshi yawned as he wrapped his arms and legs around Nosaka. He sighed softly when he felt an arm drape around his waist. 

“Unfortunately I am.” Nosaka half yawned, covering his mouth with his free hand before letting it drop to his side in order to grab a corner of the blanket they were currently laying on. “Since you’re already here with me I guess that means you’re gonna have to sleep as well.”

“Oh? How do you plan on getting me to fall asleep?”

Nosaka smirked, already knowing exactly what to do. He lowered his hand, bringing it to the small of Ichihoshi’s back and began to knead his fingers at the hollow of his spine. He felt Ichihoshi tense for a moment before practically melting on top of him and slowly sliding down his body until his cheek was pressed directly over his heart. A small sigh escaped Ichihoshi’s lips as he nuzzled his face into Nosaka’s chest, smiling softly at his husbands ministrations. Blue eyes fluttered shut when a feather light kiss was placed on the exposed skin of his forehead.

“Goodnight my little angel.”

With a hum, Ichihoshi pressed a fleeting kiss to Nosaka’s chest before drifting off into a peaceful sleep. Nosaka on the other hand remained wide awake as he gently ran his fingers along Ichihoshi’s back. He remained as still as possible for the next few minutes until he heard the sound of gentle snoring. He waited another few minutes to make sure Ichihoshi wouldn’t wake up before he made any kind of bold movements.

With his free hand, Nosaka reached into his pants pocket to retrieve his phone. From there he turned on the camera and switched the lens to the selfie mode. He cast a final glance down to Ichihoshi before returning his attention back to the camera, taking a picture of the of them. He smiled as the photo came into view on his camera roll.

Somehow he had managed to take a picture with both of their wedding rings being somewhere in the background.


	9. Ice Skating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Established Relationship/Post Orion - Ichihoshi and Nosaka go on an ice skating date.

“You ready?”

Upon hearing his boyfriend’s voice, Ichihoshi looks up. Having already tied up his skates Nosaka stands several feet off to his side with an arm rested over the chair he had previously been sitting in.

“I think so.” Ichihoshi answers as he taps his heels on the ground to make sure his shoes are securely laced onto his feet. He gives the strings of his shoes one final tug, not fully trusting them quiet yet before he stands from his own seat. The skates feel more like weights rather than shoes when he tries to take a step forward. He stumbles a bit within the first few steps towards the entrance of the ice rink but with Nosaka following close behind, he feels confident enough that he won’t fall before getting on the ice.

The moment he steps foot onto the ice however is another story. He almost immediately falls into a split when the foot he has on the ice decides to slide out in front of him. Luckily Nosaka reacts just in time to catch him before his legs can spread apart far enough to actually count as a split. Arms wrap under and around Ichihoshi’s shoulder in what feels like a death grip, pulling him off to the side of the rink where he then turns around to meet a huffing Nosaka.

With the building being as well ventilated as it is, Ichihoshi can see Nosaka’s breaths coming out in little puffs of air. A pang of guilt pools at the pit of his stomach as he places a hand on his boyfriends shoulder, gently rubbing over the fabric of Nosaka’s gray sweeter.

“Sorry about that… Are you okay?”

“No need to worry about me, I’m fine. How about you? You didn’t hurt yourself did you?” Nosaka huffs out with a fond smile.

“Thanks to you I’m not.” Ichihoshi shakes his head, returning the smile with one of his own. He lets his hand drop to his side when Nosaka rights himself. The two exchange a look before Nosaka pushes off the side of rink, sliding forward a foot or two on the ice and then skillfully turning to face Ichihoshi. A hand is offered to the blue haired male along with a playful look.

“Care to join me then?”

Blue eyes widen at the offered hand. They’d only been dating for a few weeks and even though they’ve held hands on campus a couple times they’d yet to start doing so in a more public atmosphere.

In a way it kind of scared Ichihoshi. Holding hands at school was one thing; they could get away with it because these were people who were accepting different kinds of relationships. Every now and then he’d find a buddy relationship between two girls or two boys in the hallways. After seeing them he’d feel slightly more secure about being seen with Nosaka, knowing there wouldn’t be any real judgment from his peers. But the public atmosphere was an entirely different ball game.

From his understanding, not everyone was as accepting as his peers at school. Outside of school anything could happen. They could get yelled at, harassed, or even worse! Knowing Nosaka, he would be the one most likely to define them both but that was the thing. Ichihoshi didn’t want Nosaka to be the one to do the defending. He was just as capable of handling the situation as well but if any type of harassment could be avoided with a random stranger then he’d be willing to take the chance.

“I think I’ll try skating on my own first.” Ichihoshi answers with a short shake of his head. Nosaka retracts his hand with a nod and instead pushes himself backwards on the ice, eyes locking with Ichihoshi’s. “Alright, let’s see what you can do.”

This was just great.

Although they had both agreed to go ice skating there was one thing Ichihoshi had neglect to tell his boyfriend; he couldn’t skate.

Over the few days that had been leading up to their date Ichihoshi had looked up videos to teach him how to skate but watching videos could only help him so much. He needed some real experience, so when he tried to recreate the general idea of ice skating with a pair of rollerblades with Asuto the day before, he found himself falling backwards almost every time. The very few times he managed to skate forward resulted in him crashing into a wall or falling to his knees because trying to make a turn was apparently too difficult.

He could of course always ask Nosaka for his help, say he changed his mind, but he was well past the idea by now. Asking for help after declining it made him feel guilty. So instead, Ichihoshi took a deep breath, let go of the side railing, and kicked off on the ice to start a slow decent on the ice. Nosaka took a step to the side in order to let his boyfriend through. A look of amusement flashed in his eyes as he watched Ichihoshi glide on the ice.

For 30 glorious seconds, Ichihoshi remained upright on the ice. A wide small breaking out on his face as he looked to his legs. He was doing it! He was skating and without needing to ask for help! All his practice had paid off- Or so he thought. When he brought his attention back up his eyes zeroed in on the turn he would inevitably have to make. If he were as lucky as he thought he was, then surely he’d be able to make this turn, right?

Wrong! As he shifted his left foot to make the turn the tip of the shoe bumped into the side of his right foot, causing him to panic and skid said foot further off to the right.

Ichihoshi accidently lets out a shriek as he falls to the ground, blushing at the way several people look to where he’s sitting on the ice. “S-sorry!” He mutters, moving to stand up when a figure comes rushing to his side. It’s Nosaka.

The pink haired male helps him to his feet and ends up dusting off the little specks of ice that cling onto his clothes. For a moment the two just stand there with Ichihoshi awkwardly bending at the knees due to the dull pain that’s radiating from his stomach post-fall. Nosaka offers him a hand again and asks if he’s alright.

Despite his better judgement, Ichihoshi takes Nosaka up on the offer this time, extending a hand of his own to take hold of his boyfriends. Fingers wind around his own in a firm grip and before Ichihoshi has a chance to say anything, Nosaka hushes him with a wink.

“Just relax and follow my lead. I won’t let you fall again.”

Ichihoshi breaths out a quick “yes” before Nosaka reaches for his other hand. With both hands in Nosaka’s possession Ichihoshi keeps his eyes trained on the beautiful gray ones of his boyfriend. His pulse starts to pick up the moment Nosaka tells him they’re about to start moving again. Ichihoshi expects him to turn around once the moment they start moving but to his surprise, Nosaka remains skating backwards.

“Aren’t you going to turn around? What if you fall?” Ichihoshi asks only to receive a head shake.

“Trust me, everything’s going to be fine.” Nosaka starts. “Now, let’s get you started with some basic movements on the ice.”

With Nosaka’s careful guidance, he’s able to teach Ichihoshi how to properly move on the ice and how to make simple turns. Somewhere along the line Ichihoshi picks up on a stopping method that is more heavily relied on Nosaka’s shoulders- by literally leaning onto the pink haired males shoulders- and it’s effective enough to make Nosaka and a few other skaters laugh each time they stop.

By the time Nosaka deems Ichihoshi okay enough to skate at his side, the ice rink is announcing a special couples only skate time. The lights around them dim to soft colors of pinks and blues while the building fills with a popular love song. The two of them share a smile before continuing to skate along with the music and couples around them.

Towards the middle of the song Ichihoshi can feel a pair of eyes on him. He looks of to the side where he assumes a passing couple to be staring at them. When he finds none he looks to the crowd of people outside of the rink. Nobody is staring at him in particular. Most of the skaters are busy drinking water, re-tying their skates, or doing some other various activity. When he looks over to Nosaka he startles.

Nosaka was staring at him with all the fondness in the world. His eyes sparkled with such a loving look it nearly made Ichihoshi trip- Surprisingly enough, Nosaka is the one who ends up tripping.

The two of them tumble forward with a thud.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t let me fall!” Ichihoshi laughs out, moving his free hand away from where a few pairs of passing ice skates.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but at least you didn’t fall alone this time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for weeks! This along with the next chapter((and with W & Y)) are probably the chapters I'm most looking forward to sharing with you all!
> 
> Also, this chapter was inspired by this one time my family and I went ice skating. It was about two years ago after we had finished watching a hockey game. ((My littlest sister performed during half time with her school for something and had free tickets for both the game & free skating after so that's how we were able to skate afterwards.)) Surprisingly my littlest sister and I had gotten the hang of skating within the first ten minutes after watching the people around us. Meanwhile our middle sister kind of spent the whole time holding onto the railing because she reused to let us help her.


	10. Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-Canon/Pre-Relationship  
> Ichihoshi getting jealous over the fact that some girls like Nosaka and suprise, suprise! He has no idea he's jealous in the first place.

Images of the hours before practice flashed through his mind as he bent at the knee, preparing to perform _The General_ with Nosaka. He tried to will the images to go away by taking a deep breath to re-center himself, but as he opened his eyes, he found the images had transformed into visual lines of text that were now circling around him in the spherical dome made by the hissatsu technique. He gasped and just like that the words, along with the dome, shattered around him in flickering blue specs of light. The hissatsu technique had failed.

Across the field several of his teammates called out to him, asking if he was alright, but their voices hardly reached his ears. All he could hear was the pounding of blood coursing through his ears. What had happened and why had it happened? Again, his mind raced with unwanted thoughts and images, causing him to vigorously shake his head. He isn’t even aware he’s doing so until a pair of hands are firmly placed on his shoulders, stilling him in place. Blue eyes snap open at the contact. Hovering in front of him is none other than Nosaka.

“Ichihoshi, what’s wrong?” The tactician asks, panic clearly evident in his voice.

“I- I…” Ichihoshi tries to speak only to find the words catching in his throat. He tries again and is met with the same results. When he tries to talk for a third time Nosaka shakes his head and instead moves forward to press their foreheads together. The action catches Ichihoshi off guard and he lets a little whimper slip past his lips. Nosaka backs off at the sound but remains close enough to obscure Ichihoshi’s view from the world around them.

The sound of distant foot steps ring in his ears and he turns his head to see several of his teammates rushing towards him.

“Hey.” Nosaka says, bringing his attention back to the tactician. “Everything’s going to be okay but I need you to focus on me for a bit- Breath with me.”

Ichihoshi can only manage a weak nod, following Nosaka’s instructions to take in a deep breath. The two of them remain on the ground for what feels like an hour but in reality is only a few minutes before Nosaka slowly withdraws himself from the other. By now all of their teammates are huddled around them, each sporting a worried look on their faces. Nishikage, who was standing much closer to them is the first one to speak up.

“What happened? Neither of you are hurt are you?”

“There’s no need to worry. We just had a little trouble with the hissatsu is all.” Nosaka speaks up for the both of them. He wasn’t exactly sure what had just happened himself but telling the team a lie he was essentially taking the weight off of Ichihoshi’s shoulders for now. Besides, when he looked back to the midfielder, he could tell the other wasn’t exactly ready to speak just yet.

With a sigh, Nosaka rose from the ground, sweeping a gaze at the team and then looking up towards the sky. It was getting late. The sun had sunken down much further in the sky then where it had previously been when practice had started. Within the next few minutes the sun would most likely be hidden behind several buildings anyway.

“How about we call it a day? Everyone, go get some rest and we’ll start up where we left off tomorrow morning.”

A few of the more energetic teammates groaned with displeasure at having to stop practice now while the more exhausted teammates practically ran off towards the locker room. They’d only ever got to go home early on a few occasions and this time was no exception. The teammates who stayed behind to help clean up around the field gave Ichihoshi little pats on the back while passing by on their way back to the locker room.

Ichihoshi silently thanked Nosaka for the decision to end practice early. Even though he was starting to feel better, the guilt of messing up _The General_ was starting to weigh on his heart. Yeah they may have only been practicing the hissatsu technique for practice but what if he had messed it up during an actual match? Would his teammates have let him off as easily as they did now, or would they have criticized him for not getting it right? Then again, his teammates were all pretty relaxed about mess ups on the field in their own way but the thought of what they might say still tugged at his mind. And not only that, but the images he had seen still lingered clearly in his mind.

Even though most of their team mates were back inside, Nishikage hung back in order to talk to Nosaka, the two of them spared Ichihoshi a glance or two between their conversation before the goalkeeper left for the locker room. Now only Nosaka and Ichihoshi remained on the field.

An awkward silence filled the air as Ichihoshi slowly rose from the ground. A few strands of grass clung to his socks and he bent down to swipe them off. As he did so a light throb pulsed where the mark of Orion had once been branded into the side of his ankle. He grimaced at the feeling but otherwise avoided touching that part of his leg.

“So…Care to tell me what’s going?”

Blue eyes dart up to meet gray ones. Ichihoshi doesn’t miss the way Nosaka’s eyebrows raise when he didn’t answer immediately.

“I was just having a bad day is all.” He starts, looking towards the direction of the locker room. Another awkward silence fell upon them and this time Ichihoshi found himself slowly inching towards the locker room, trying to avoid making any kind of conversation. “Sorry for worrying you, but I’m totally fine now! If you don’t mind, I’m gonna go back to change now- See you at the dorms!”

True to his words, Ichihoshi made a beeline for the locker room before Nosaka could get a word out. However, instead of changing in the locker room he hurriedly grabbed his bag and rushed out the doors. A few of his teammates who still remained in the locker room questioned him on his way out, asking why he was leaving without changing his clothes first but since he was trying to get out of there fast he gave them all a short answer; telling them he was going to continue practicing elsewhere before he booked it out of the room.

Ichihoshi took long and fast strides down the sidewalks of Outie Tsukinomiya. The desire to be as far away from Nosaka and everyone on the team coursed through his veins, fueling him like a super charged fire tornado racing towards a goalkeeper.

The images he had seen during his messed-up performance of _The General_ slowly began to resurface in his mind as he walked. With each step he took a lurching sensation festered within the pit of his stomach, causing him to move faster, hoping that by doing so the feeling would go away sooner. As he walked an image of the girl he had seen talking with Nosaka before practice came to mind. In it, he pictured the girl and Nosaka smiling and laughing with one another. The two of them happily walking to class hand in hand without a care in the world.

Seeing this image nearly caused Ichihoshi to trip over his own two feet. His ankle started to throb again and for a brief moment, a strange feeling of possessiveness washed over him followed by another image that flashed through his mind.

Ichihoshi shock his head, unconsciously balling up his hands into fists before running towards the schools dormitory. Why did he have to start crushing on Nosaka in the first place? Someone like Nosaka would never like him back anyway. Realistically speaking Nosaka would most likely end up with some pretty girl later on in the future. It was the hard truth but by telling himself this now, he knew he would be saving himself from any more heartache later on.

He continued his run to the dormitory until the building came into view, slowing down into a fast walk as he passed through some sliding doors. He let out a small sigh after he managed to make it into a lone elevator, slumping tiredly against the walls within. He needed to get over his crush and fast. Avoidance seemed like a good option! By doing so, he could distract himself with other important things such as independent soccer practice or homework. Yeah, that’s what he’d do! He’d avoid Nosaka for a week or so with some general excuses and then everything would go back to normal between them. Problem solved!

Having made up his mind, Ichihoshi stepped out of elevator once it opened on his floor and walked to his room. When he was inside he quickly changed into his pajamas and got into bed, ignoring the way his stomach growled in protest of not being fed. From there he closed his eyes and let a sigh fall past his lips. Starting tomorrow, he was going to work on getting rid of his crush. With a nod, he turned in bed to have his back face Nosaka’s, closing his eyes tightly, trying to will himself asleep before the other could arrive. He’d inevitably fall asleep in that position for the remainder of the night. 

For the next couple of days Ichihoshi did his best to avoid thinking of or being near Nosaka, which proved to be a much harder task than he’d originally anticipated, considering his days closely revolved around the tactician. Since they shared a room there was no real physical way to avoid him and considering how they regularly met up both inside and outside of class to discuss plans for practice, Ichihoshi struggled to keep his mind empty of any kind of pesky feelings.

By the fourth day of his failed attempts of avoiding Nosaka, Ichihoshi found himself stuck in a situation similar to one he had been in on the day of his hissatsu messed up. It was uncanny how things played out. He had been walking with Nosaka and Nishikage to the locker room when a girl had stopped them in the hallways, asking to talk to Nosaka in private. Having grown used to this common recurrence of girls asking to speak with Nosaka, Nishikage continued on walking to the locker room. Ichihoshi had as well continued to walk but had split up from the goalkeeper, telling him he had to get something from the library. Nishikage had simply shrugged and replied with a “go on” leaving the midfielder to wander off on his own.

From there, Ichihoshi had snuck back to where Nosaka and the girl were, hiding behind a staircase in order to eavesdrop on the conversation. Everything afterwards played out similarly to how it did the other day. The girl confessed her feelings to Nosaka, Nosaka let the girl down by telling her he couldn’t return her feelings. Only this time, Nosaka added he couldn’t return the girl’s feelings due to the fact that he liked someone else. Out of both shock and confusion Ichihoshi rushed off before either of them could walk in his direction. Unlike the last time, where he ran to the locker rooms, he ran off to the library instead.

The slightest sting of tears began to well up in the corners of his eyes as he ran to the library. He didn’t know what he was expecting to hear this time around in Nosaka’s conversation but it certainly wasn’t that! Now that he knew Nosaka liked someone else, he’d never be able to stand a chance of being with him. His ankle throbbed as he ran and the tears that he collected at the corners of his eyes slowly flowed down the sides of cheeks as he entered the library, obscuring his vision…

For the next two-hours Ichihoshi remained hidden at the back of the library. A tower of books shielded his face from view of anyone who passed by, but the likely hood of anyone else being in the library was a ratio of zero to none. The library had closed a good thirty minutes ago and since he had hidden himself in an area that not many students traveled to, nobody had asked him to leave. He was as alone as he could be. Or at least he thought he was.

The sound of light footsteps soon entered the area he was seated at. He kept his head on the table, hoping the books would be a good enough cover but alas, the footsteps drew closer until they were standing right in front of the table.

“You missed practice.” Nosaka whispered. “Nishikage told me you had something to care of but I didn’t think you’d be here this late.”

Silence greeted the tactician. With a sigh, Nosaka walked around the table until he was standing right next to Ichihoshi. “Hey? Are you awake?” He started, reaching a hand out to touch blue hair only to have his hand smacked away.

“Don’t touch my brother” Piercing blue eyes glared at him from between folded arms. It was at that moment where Nosaka finally took notice of how ruffled out Ichihoshi’s hair had become. The usual fluffy looking texture had puffed out to make it look more pointy at the edges, styled in a way more similar to look like Mitsuru’s.

“I-Ichihoshi?” The tactician stuttered out, watching the midfielder rise from his seat. “What happened?” He asks, reaching out a hand again only to be stopped by a wrist grabbing his in a firm grip.

“Hikaru’s not here right now. He left because a certain _someone_ scared him off.” Mitsuru spat out. The grip he had on Nosaka’s wrist tightened for a moment before he all but released the tactician with a forceful shove. A strange look ghosted over his eyes, causing him to turn his head to the side. “As his older brother it’s my job to protect him…If I can’t physically be here to protect my brother then I’ll at least be here for him mentally.”

A chill ran down the tacticians spine as Mitsuru turned his attention back to him. It had been nearly a year since he had last seen the older Ichihoshi sibling. And even though he wanted to bid Mitsuru well, he kind of wished he’d never have to see him again.

Ichihoshi shouldn’t have split up with his brothers personality again. But he had no one to blame but himself in the moment. After all, Mitsuru was referring to him when he mentioned “a certain _someone.”_

Taking a deep breath, Nosaka took a step forward. “I understand your worries-“

“-You don’t understand anything!” Mitsuru hissed, effectively cutting off Nosaka. “You’re supposed to be so smart but yet, you can’t even figure out what was going on with Hikaru these past few days! Didn’t you find it strange how he started shutting down on you after he couldn’t get _The General_ to work? It wasn’t because he was tired or anything. It was because he was freaking out over the thought of losing you to some girl because he likes you!” Mitsuru scram, slapping a hand over his mouth as soon as the last words were out.

“Forget that last part.” Mitsuru manages to say a few moments later. But how can Nosaka just let the words go? Now that he had conformation of the midfielders feelings he could finally ask Ichihoshi a question that had been plaguing his mind for weeks.

“Mitsuru, can I talk to Hikaru for a little? I think I understand what I need to do.”

“I don’t think now’s a good time.” Mitsuru says, eyes narrowing as he lowers his hand from his mouth. “I shouldn’t have-“

“-Please.” Nosaka interrupts him. The smallest of smiles grace his lips as he inches closer, resting a hand on Mitsuru’s shoulder. “I’ll make this right, I promise.”

Mitsuru grumbles out a string of words, barely audible to the tactician before he nods his head, backing away to put a short distance between the two. “You better not mess this up. If you do, I’ll come back and make sure you pay for it.” He says and although his words are sharp they come out rather calmly. He gives Nosaka a pointed look right before closing his eyes, whispering a small “see you later.” When he blinks his eyes open again, Nosaka smiles. His Ichihoshi was back.

Ichihoshi on the other hand frowned, gaze quickly falling to the floor, while his lips trembled with worry. Why hadn’t Mitsuru dealt with this for him? Now that Nosaka knew of his feelings there would be no going back now. If only he hadn’t developed a crush on the tactician in the first place…What felt like a tear slowly made its way down the side of his cheek. As he went to wipe it away he decided to look back to the tactician. “I’m so sorry.” Is all he can manage to say.

“Sorry about what? For liking me? There’s no need to be sorry about that. You’re allowed to feel however you want. So let yourself feel however you want about anyone. No one can stop you from liking someone and if you ever get angry or jealous or whatever when thinking about them than that’s okay. Your emotions are all your own- Allow yourself to feel them. We’re only human. We were made to feel things no matter what kind of emotion they are. And if we’re being honest with each other right now, then… I’ve actually liked you for quite some time.”

Blue eyes quickly scan him up and down, staring at him in disbelief. Although Nosaka wants to laugh, he forces himself not to, already picturing how badly the midfielder would react if were to do so. So instead, he nods his head, silently confirming his own words to be true. It takes a minute for Ichihoshi to do anything but when he does, all he can do is stretch out his arms in a silent plea towards Nosaka. His words catching in his throat; being too scared to vocalize what felt like such a taboo wish.

Taking the hint, Nosaka moves forward to close the gap between them, wrapping his arms around Ichihoshi’s waist in a gentle way. A pair of arms loosely return his embrace and Nosaka tightens his hold, drawing Ichihoshi closer. A little sob sounds close to his ear and he nuzzles the side of his cheek into blue hair.

“Let it all out.” The words are airy on Nosaka’s lips.

“I really like you Nosaka.” Ichihoshi breaths out, a sob wrenching out of his mouth soon after. Nosaka holds him closer still, bringing a hand up to card thorough the back of blue hair.

“I hope this isn’t too sudden but…would you like to go out with me sometime?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to another addition of chapter notes!!!
> 
> This chapter was mostly influenced by an artwork I had seen a while back on Twitter ((https://twitter.com/tocotoco_0613/status/1123812970545467394)). It was just really interesting to me how Mitsuru came back after Hikaru saw a girl offering Nosaka some chocolates and yeah... I hope you liked this chapter and until next, I'll see you all later!


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